Family members have identified the 80-year-old man who died after being struck by a car in Broomfield on Saturday as longtime Boulder Valley School District geology teacher Wayne Daniels.

Daniels was walking with his wife, Jane Daniels, across Colo. 7 in the crosswalk at Mountain View Boulevard -- not far from their Erie condo -- just after 4 p.m. Saturday when a woman in a Dodge Durango made a right turn onto Colo. 7 and struck them both, according to Broomfield police.

Daniels was airlifted to an area hospital but died from his injuries.

Jane Daniels, 77, suffered a fractured femur, which has since been repaired surgically. She has been released from the hospital and is now recovering in a Broomfield-area rehabilitation facility, according to the couple's oldest daughter, Katherine Daniels.

"Fortunately, she is in really good shape," Katherine Daniels said of her mother's physical condition. "She is very sad. (My parents) had a lot of interests in common, so they spent a lot of time together."

The Danielses moved to Boulder in 1958, and both began working in the Boulder Valley School District, according to their daughter. Jane Daniels eventually served as principal of two Boulder-area elementary schools.

Wayne Daniels, formerly a Marine Corps aviator and a cartographer, began teaching at Casey Junior High School, where he earned an Outstanding Young Teacher of the Year Award, Katherine Daniels said. He later taught geology and physics at Fairview High School before retiring, only to take up teaching again as a flight instructor at the former Jefferson County Airport.

Advertisement

The couple was heavily involved in the community through BVSD and their involvement in St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, according to friends and family.

Those who knew Wayne Daniels described him as an extremely generous and thoughtful man, who, along with his wife, worked hard to stay in shape later in life.

"He was extremely intellectual. He just was really up on everything that was happening in today's world, and he always remembered everything he read," said Peggie Hudiburg, a longtime family friend whose husband, Roger, was also a BVSD science teacher. "He gave out the impression he would do anything you asked him to do."

"One of the best things about my father was his curiosity about life and his constant quest for new knowledge," Katherine Daniels said. "Every summer we would tackle a different section of the country and get in a car and drive, the four of us and the dog. We had many adventures."

A memorial service for Wayne Daniels has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at St. Aidan's, 2425 Colorado Ave.

The driver in Saturday's accident, a 51-year-old Longmont woman whose name has not been released, was not believed to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, police say.

The accident remains under investigation by Broomfield police. It is not clear if charges will be filed in the case.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story